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Rand Paul’s moment

He spent the past two years in the minority of the minority, the ultimate political gadfly pushing issues from which most Republicans sought distance.

But in 12 hours and 52 minutes, Sen. Rand Paul transformed himself from an outsider viewed with suspicion by much of his party to a unifying leader bringing together tea party voices with establishment Republicans and the Washington political elite. Paul’s voice, literally, was finally felt in Washington, and his colleagues were listening.

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Paul filibusters CIA nomination

PHOTOS: Rand Paul's career

The Kentucky Republican’s decision to stand on the floor and launch the ninth-longest speech in the Senate’s history became a cause célèbre for Republicans hungry for a battle with the White House. Never mind that many of them, like Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, rejected Paul’s chief contention — that the executive branch lacks the constitutional authority to unilaterally kill Americans on U.S. soil with unmanned drones — and several more were ready to confirm John Brennan to head the CIA.

On Thursday afternoon, Paul announced he would relent and allow the Brennan vote to advance after receiving a letter from the Justice Department. Brennan was confirmed shortly afterwards, 63 to 34.

Supporting Paul — a tea party hero and conservative force — became a political plus for Republicans, who have struggled to unite since the November elections. One by one, GOP senators like Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Marco Rubio of Florida, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and John Thune of South Dakota came to the floor to talk in the libertarian’s defense, egged on by conservative and mainstream voices from the outside who urged them to “Stand with Rand.” Several conservative House members — like Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert and Michigan Rep. Justin Amash — showed up on the Senate floor just to lend moral support.

“It seemed to be kind of spontaneous. People just started coming to the floor, first the other senators and then like 15 or 20 congressman came over, and that doesn’t happen very often, so we were pretty excited about that,” Paul told POLITICO.

The filibuster boomeranged on Twitter and throughout the conservative echo-chamber.

Close to midnight on Wednesday, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus tweeted that GOP senators should head to the floor to support Paul. The National Republican Senatorial Committee — once the scourge of the tea party — united with the far-right in praising Paul, even highlighting the senator’s filibuster in a fundraising push.

McConnell — who only hours before was quietly negotiating a quick vote with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to confirm Brennan as early as Wednesday — came to the floor shortly before midnight to mount a defense of Paul and announce that he would vote to sustain the filibuster. It was another sign of how the tea party favorite has grown enormously influential with the GOP leader from his own state, particularly as McConnell tries to ward off any primary challenge in his 2014 reelection bid.

On Thursday, Paul was still the talk of the Senate, with his push reinvigorating Republicans looking for a way to recapture the Senate.

“I think more than anything else a lot of this has to do with people just seeing him standing up, standing on principle, arguing for what he believes in and trying to get some answers from the administration,” Thune, No. 3 in Senate leadership, said in an interview. “I think the one thing that does unite us as a conference — irrespective of what our position may be on the underlying issue — is that the administration isn’t transparent.”